No Place I'd Rather Be
by xElsax
Summary: Chloe and Max decide to ride the elevator in an abandoned mall...


**A/N: This was written for a writing prompt for the FanFiction subreddit, where you had to write about two characters in an elevator. This is almost like a proof-of-concept. And while this was written as a self-contained story, I'd love to further explore the world and Chloe and Max's relationship.**

 **If you want to hear this in audio form, Kabibi recorded an audio version on her website!**

 **kabibiaudiofics DOT net**

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"Chloe, I told you we shouldn't have rode this elevator!"

"But it looked so cool!" She put her fingers on the dusty glass wall—etched with hastily scribbled graffiti and tastefully civil art—looking over the abandoned mall plaza.

"We're going to die!"

"Just chill, Max. We'll just-" Chloe looked at her phone. It was not being serviced, of course.

"What? There's no service?" She looked at her own phone. "That's it, it's over."

"Did you try rewinding?"

Max tensed her body, focusing all of her energy on her hand that she held in front of her. The blur of the events folded back onto each other, ending when the migraine squeezed her head and the red vignette filled her vision.

The elevator was traveling up. "This is awesome!" Chloe said, watching as they ascended into the sky.

The floor began to shake. The ride ended mid-flight.

"Oh shit," Chloe said, as she turned around, and pushed the lifeless buttons.

"Chloe..."

Max let Chloe check her phone again. "Damn, no reception. But it's fine, there's an escape hatch on the ceiling. Haven't you seen the movies? Here, boost me up."

Max's interlocked hands sunk as Chloe planted her boot onto them. Her thin arms began to shake. "Hurry, Chloe, you're too heavy."

"Oh wow thanks Max."

"I meant, I'm not strong enough."

Chloe banged on the metal ceiling. "I can't find it!"

"Chloe my arms are breaking."

"Sorry Max." She stepped down. "Do you want to try?"

"It's not going to work, Chloe," she said while brushing the dirt on her jeans.

"Let's just try," Chloe said, stretching out her arms and cracking her fingers, then flipping them over, offering a platform for Max to step on.

"Life isn't like the movies," she said while grabbing onto Chloe's shoulders. She propelled up and planted her palms on the top of the box. The texture was cold.

"My life is. It's like one of those rad indie movies. I'm the lovable punk chick, and everyone feels sorry for me because I have a step-douche and my best friend abandoned me."

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"It just sucked."

"I'm sorry, Chloe." Max looked down.

"Did you find it?"

"What am I looking for?"

"I don't know, just keep pressing until you find something."

"Chloe, nothing is working."

"Try over here." She shuffled to the other corner and Max walked her hands across the roof.

"It's no use." Max stepped down and walked over to the glass plane, looking at the streaks of sun falling from the cracked skylight, then flipped around, beaming distress to Chloe. "What do we do?"

"I don't know, Max. Let's not panic. That's not going to solve anything. Maybe, you know, someone will come by. I mean, we're not the only ones who explore this creepy ol' abandoned mall."

Max's breathing became audible.

Chloe put her hand on Max's shoulder and applied pressure with her thumb. "Hey, it'll be okay. I promise."

Max looked in the corner of the dusty elevator while clutching the strap of her bag.

"At least we have each other, right?"

Max lifted her head, heavy with thoughts of despair, forming a nod.

"Tell me about your day," she said, leaning against the wall.

"You know about my day, Chloe, I was with you the whole time."

"Well tell me anyways."

Max sighed. "I don't know, first you texted me saying you wanted to go on an adventure, and then you picked me up in your beaten up old truck."

"Hey, quit hatin' on my truck."

"Then we drove for a while, and then you said you knew of an abandoned mall that you wanted to check out. Then we broke in, then we rode the elevator, and now we're stuck."

"Did you have fun?"

"Uh, well, I did before we got into this crappy elevator."

"Want me to tell you about my day?"

"I don't understand."

"Alright, I woke up at noon, and the first thing I thought was, 'I want to see Max!' Then I fired you a text saying 'Let's go globe trottin'!' And you replied saying, you're a genius, Chloe! You're so cool, and smart, and pretty!"

Max chuckled, "I didn't say that."

"I took a quick rinse, then I put on my finest attire – as you can clearly see." She floated her hand over herself and her black blazer and her wrinkled tank-top with a detailed black-and-white sketch of a skull; over her tattered beanie and her scattered electric-blue hair it was covering; over her shredded denim jeans tucked into her long black boots. "Then I waited outside with the engine purring, checking the rear-view mirror to make sure I looked sexy. When I saw you coming out the door I felt really light and airy."

Max was looking up at the girl who was much taller than her, who had taken a step closer. "…Really?" she asked.

Chloe looked away, but continued talking. "As we were driving along the coast and the mist was floating in the air, and as the wind was blowing in through the windows, and even as that shitty song was playing on the radio, I was thinking, 'There's nowhere I'd rather be right now.'"

Max was silent, watching Chloe, waiting for what she was going to say next.

Chloe looked at Max, looked into her vibrant and wide eyes, her azure irises refracting the pink of her shirt. "I'm thinking the same thing right now."

Max's grip tightened on the stiff strap of her bag, her eyes darted around Chloe's face, her mind trying to process the information. Chloe took another step forward. Unsure what she was going to do, Max continued to hold on. Chloe began to lower towards Max, whose eyes remained open to their limit. Noticing this, Chloe stopped as she was hovered over Max's face, and let out a nervous laugh, which tickled her nose. Max pushed forward and connected to Chloe's lips, watching as Chloe's eyelids sunk. A ripple of crisp water wisped through Max's body, loosening her grip on her bag, and pushing out the air she didn't know she was holding. Chloe placed her hand on Max's cheek, emitting a vibrating chill that cooled the soothing stream of heat they were transmitting. Chloe pulled back, their lips physically lingering before unsticking.

With her eyes still closed, Max's open mouth turned into a smile as the weight of her eyelids rose, fixating on Chloe, and her sleepy smirk, through her lashes.

Chloe greeted her when they realigned the rays of their interconnected gaze, "Hi."

Max let out a laugh, "Hey Chloe."

Chloe started to lean down once more.

"Oh, you want more?" Max played.

"Yes, please."

Max held up her hands to catch Chloe who collided into her lips. Max pulled away, and looked out the glass. Her face tensed. "What do we do Chloe?"

"We just relax."

"I can't. What if we never get out of here?"

"We will, I promise."

"Let's try opening the door." Max gripped the crack of the elevator door and attempted to pull. Chloe braced her feet on the ground and pulled the other way. The silver gates appeared to move but human strength wasn't going to unlock them. Max spun around and stepped over to the glass wall, knocking against it. "What about this?"

"You want to break the glass? You know how thick these things are? They're designed not to break."

Max put her hands on her head, running her fingers through her hair. Her eyes began to fill with water.

"Max…Hey, we're going to be fine."

"We're not, Chloe, we're not. We're never getting out of here." She continued to look at the ground. She started to mutter. "It's all my fault."

"What? Now you're just being crazy. It was my idea to come here. So it's actually my fault."

Max continued looking at the ground.

Chloe wrapped her arms around her, "Hey, none of that matters. I'm here for you, okay?"

Max buried her face into Chloe's shoulder, wetting the fabric of her shirt with warm tears.

"So what do you want to do when we get out of here? I'm craving froyo."

Max's face was still squished against Chloe.

Chloe twirled her fingers in Max's cinnamon hair. "What do you say we get the largest size they got, and we pile on a mountain of toppings. You name it, whatever you want. And when people see our creation they'll be hella jelly."

Chloe felt Max form a smile against her skin.

"Then we'll go to the beach and go surfing."

Max pulled her face off, looking at Chloe's soaked skin. "I didn't know you surfed."

"I don't. But I've lived by the ocean my whole life. So it's about time I tried."

"It seems kind of hard."

"Alright, then we'll lay in the sand and watch the waves as the sun sets, and then we'll look up at the stars."

"That sounds nice."

"Then, we'll start making out."

"Chloe!" Blush warmed Max's face.

"Okay we won't do that."

"No… I…"

Chloe smiled. "We'll play it by ear."

"Okay, that sounds good," Max said. She paused for a moment, then continued. "Hey, Chloe?"

The floor started rattling. "Holy shit." The elevator started moving up. When it reached the top, the doors released.

"Quick!" Max grabbed Chloe's hand and they sprinted out of the box. They kept running until they were out of breath. Max stopped, putting her hands on her knees. "Oh my god," she said between deep inhales. She stood up and secured Chloe with her arms. "I can't believe we're out."

Chloe put her face against the top of Max's head.

"I was so scared, Chloe."

"I know, Max. I'm sorry. Let's promise never to ride an elevator ever again."

Max squeezed Chloe. "Thank you for helping me get through that. I don't know how you stayed so calm."

"It was because I was with you. If I wasn't, trust me, I would've totally had a panic attack." Chloe ran her fingers through Max's hair. "Come on, let's get out of here. You still up for some froyo?"

Max pulled away from her embrace and looked into Chloe's cool blue eyes. "Yes, please."

Chloe slid her hand down Max's arm, then twined their fingers together.

"Let's go."

"I can't wait."


End file.
